Search

Between jack-o-lanterns for Halloween and pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, it seems like pumpkins are everywhere for the months of October & November…. Growing up I thought they were just for Halloween, but the older, more mature (?) me appreciates so many things about pumpkins… Here are just a few of those things:

Roast Pumpkin Seeds:

2 cups pumpkin seeds

1 1/2 TBSP butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp c

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Clean and dry to seeds. Melt butter in saucepan and stir in salt, garlic salt & Worcestershire sauce. Add seeds and stir to coat. Spread seeds on a single layer on a large un-greased cookie sheet. Cook for 60 minutes stirring at the 15, 30, 40 and 50 minute marks. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Some of my favorite things about this time of year are pumpkins – and mums – so I thought it was the cutest thing ever to put them together!!!

Most of the supplies that you will need to make this planter are pretty obvious – a pumpkin, and a plant. You can certainly use any plant you would like, but I think the mum is the seasonal favorite… You will also need something to cut the pumpkin with, something to scrape out the pumpkin with (forgot to put this in the pic below), and the supplies to make a bow – or use a pre-made bow. Instructions for making a bow can be found in last weeks post: https://baptismalgownsplus.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/step-by-step-how-to-make-a-bow/

Step 1: Cut the top off the pumpkin and clean out the guts. It took me a little while to get the diameter of the circle right so that the pot fit in the pumpkin snugly. Start a little smaller than you think and gradually make the hole bigger until you’ve got it right.

Step 2: Bleach the inside of the pumpkin to attempt to keep the mold away… and hopefully keep the planter from rotting right away.

One note of caution – to avoid the pumpkin from rotting prematurely, take the pot out of the pumpkin before you water the plant. Let the excess water drain away for just a few minutes and then replace the flower pot back in the pumpkin.